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THE OLD 
CARLISLE DANCING ASSEMBLY 

A GLIMPSE AT THE SOCIAL LIFE OF THE 
EIGHTEENTH CENTURY 



Paper read before the Hamilton Library Association, 
Carlisle, Pa. — The Historical Society of Cum- 
berland County, Pennsylvania, 
November 16, 1917 



BY 



PROFESSOR CHARLES F. HIMES 




HAMILTON LIBRARY ASSOCIATION 
1917 



y 1 



THE OLD 
CARLISLE DANCING ASSEMBLY 

A GLIMPSE AT THE SOCIAL LIFE OF THE 
EIGHTEENTH CENTURY 



Paper read before the Hamilton Library Association, 
Carlisle, Pa. — The Historical Society of Cum- 
berland County, Pennsylvania, 
November 16, 1917 



BY 



PROFESSOR CHARLES F HIMES 




HAMILTON LIBRARY ASSOCIATION 
1917 






«FI J5 1918 














.^ 






SUBSCRIPTION PAPER 

TO THE 

CARLISLE DANCING ASSEMBLY 

1782 



"The Old Carlisle Dancing Assembly'' 

A GLIMPSE AT THE SOCIAL LIFE OF THE 
EIGHTEENTH CENTURY 

Read before the Hamilton Library Association— the Historical 
vSociety of Cumberland County, Pennsylvania— by Professor Charles F. 
Himes, November 16, 1917. 

I desire to remind you that the paper about to be 
read is a historical paper, before a historical society ; that 
the motive, so to speak, is purely historical, and that it is 
in no wise intended as a discussion, exceut in a most in- 
cidental way, of any other aspect of the subject. 

We are coming to be more and more interested in the 
purely social life, in what we might almost call the real 
life of the Olden Time, of those whose places we now fill. 
We sometimes cease thinking of their great achieve- 
ments, their courageous deeds, their sacrifices, and turn 
to those minor events and occupations that constitute so 
great a part of human life ; for their life could not have 
been one hard, dull, everlasting grind, thinking about us, 
perhaps worrying about us, planning big things and 
working for us, as some of the "millions of unborn pos- 
terity . " 

The question that springs into our thoughts is : When 
they relaxed from more serious thought and strenuous 
endeavor, what did they do? How did they entertain 
themselves? What were the amusements, the recrea- 
tions, the pastimes that filled in their purely social life? 

This line of thought was suggested in reading over, 
and thinking over, or, perhaps, rather musing over an 
old document, somewhat discolored with time, but still 
well preserved and legible, that belonged to the life of the 
last decades of the 18th century . 

It is not gravely historical . It was written for the 
day . There is even no date on it . Its survival to be 
read and commented upon at such a meeting as this was 

1 



certainly not contemplated at the time or we might say 
"not dreamed of." 

It seems to have been preserved by sheer accident, 
with others, as a prominent historian has said, "rescued 
from the maw of the paper-mill" by the well-known his- 
torical writer and investigator, Rev. Joseph A. Murray, 
D . D . , long the active Secretary of this Association . 

It is nothing more nor less than the Subscription 
Paper of the Carlisle Dancing Assembly. A peculiar 
interest attaches to it because it is autographically sub- 
scribed by some of Carlisle's most distinguished citizens, 
and representatives of its oldest families. In its con-i 
sideration we will find ourselves wandering beyond, per- 
haps far beyond, the limits of our own old town, among 
other communities ; for the whole human family is very 
closely akin in its desire, almost an instinct, for recrea- 
tive amusements . 

That there is no date on the document is not a grave 
defect ; as the historic essence is all there, and the omis- 
sion of the date only shows how purely incidental it was, 
as far as use or pleasure is concerned . But whilst the 
precise date can not be fixed, the document contains with- 
in itself clews that will furnish an approximation, that 
will answer all historic demands if not fully satisfy curi- 
osity . 

The paper reads as follows: 

"The Subscribers agree to pay each twenty-five shill- 
ings for defraying the expence of a Dancing Assembly on 
the following conditions : 

"That there shall be three Assemblys during the 
Winter to be held at such Times and Places as the man- 
agers shall direct. 

"That the Expence of each Evening shall be so calcu- 
lated as not to exceed the one third Part of the whole sum 
that may be subscribed . 

"That tickets for the season be sent to such ladies as 
the Managers may think proper . " 

At this point, the following words, originally pro- 

2 



posed in the document restricting the Managers, were 

crossed over, viz : "but that no lady be invited under 

years of age." The number designating the years was 
so effectually crossed out that it is undecipherable . We 
may assume that there was some discussion of this vexed 
question, as to the age of admission of ladies, and that it 
was decisively left to the Managers; as the restricting 
clause was not only stricken out, but "as the Managers 
think proper" re-written above it. 

The document continues : 

"That each subscriber pay one third Part of his sub- 
scription each evening on entering the Dancing Room . 

"That No Gentlemen (Subscribers excepted) be ad- 
mitted without Leave of the Managers & that Such shall 
pay the same as the Subscribers for the Evening. 

"That Colonel Postlethwaite & Mr. Hamilton be 
Managers for the first evening & that they shall nominate 
two Gentlemen to succeed them . " 

A name was inserted just above, and between the 
above two; evidently as a proposed third manager; but 
the name was effectually crossed out, leaving but two 
managers . 

The subscribers' names are in two columns. The 
well known signature of Robert Magaw heads the right 
hand column . This alone would fix the decade, at least, 
within which it was written . It must have been after 
his exchange as a Prisoner of War, in 1780, and before 
his decease in 1790 . 

During that decade he was not only prominent pro- 
fessionally, but equally so in social life, and public enter- 
prizes of all kinds . He had given up a large practice as 
a lawyer, by far the largest at the Carlisle bar, with such 
competitors as Wilson, subsequently one of the "Signers," 
and Stephenson, to go, as Major of the "First Battalion 
of Pennsylvania Riflemen," under Col . William Thomp- 
son, to Boston in 1775 . He was subsequently entrusted, 
by Washington, with the defense of Fort Washington, the 
most important post on the Hudson, the last retained by 

3 



Washington on New York Island, after his movement in- 
to the Jerseys. After a heroic defense, and his mem- 
orable reply of defiance to the British summons to sur- 
render, accompanied with threat of being put to the 
sword, in case of resistance . He was finally obliged to 
surrender to overwhelming numbers, that swarmed over 
his earthworks. He was held as prisoner of war, on 
parole, on Long Island, and there became intimate in the 
prominent old Knickerbocker family of Van Brunt, and 
as a result, on his exchange, in 1780, he brought with him 
to Carlisle as his wife, the highly educated and accomp- 
lished daughter, Marretje (Marietta), a brilliant conver- 
sationalist, and said to be one of the handsomest women 
on Long Island. He not only resumed the practice of 
law, but took part in the social life of the town, in which 
his wife, as tradition has it, was the life of that coterie 
of women which made the town's society so delightful . 

At the head of the other column was the signature 
of James Hamilton, then a prominent lawyer, who had 
not long before come to Carlisle, and who was subse- 
quently the able and honored judge of the " district of 
which Cumberland County formed a part for thirteen 
years ; until his decease in 1819 . 

Among the other names, many will be recognized as 
representatives of well loiown old Carlisle famalies: 

Sam'l A . McCoskry, was an eminent physician, who 
married a daughter — Alison — of Doctor Nisbet, Presi- 
dent of the College, and whose son became Episcopal 
Bishop of Michigan . 

George Kline, doubtless the well known printer, 
whose name is familiar on Carlisle imprints, and who was 
one of the founders of the "Carlisle Gazette and The 
Western Repository of Knowledge," 1785. In this the 
"art preservative" has done its best work for the preser- 
vation of the data of our early local history, as it was not 
only the first newspaper published in Carlisle, but per- 
haps west of the Susquehanna. It may save some 
trouble to investigators to know that reference is made to 



it sometimes by its last title, by which it is not cataloged ; 
as it is generally known as "Klines' Gazette." It may 
be of some interest too, to this local audience, to know 
that his printing-house was at one time, at least, on the 
south side of West Main street, nearly opposite the old 
Denny cabin, and that it was entered by a porch with 
side steps, nine in number. 

Thomas Duncan became a leading lawyer in the State, 
and an able Justice of the Supreme Court of Pennsylva- 
nia. Joseph Thornburg was one of the early iron- 
masters . 

But passing over many facts that have more than a 
genealogical interest, we simply give the other names on 
the document, namely : Nath'l Smith, Jno. Miller, Robert 
Miller, jr., William Alexander, George UenniaOTt, Hugh 
Wilson, Sam'l Montgomery, James Armstrong, Joseph 
Postlethwaite, Wm. McCoskry, James Blaine, Robert 
Blain, Richard t^Qjitlin , and two others not clearly deciph- 
erable . ^0u44(Mr^ 

The paper seems to relate in great part to financial 
matters, but it allows much to be read between the lines, 
with assistance from other sources, especially from the 
recently published complete account, or as complete as it 
can be made, of the Philadelphia assemblies, *by that ac- 
complished historian, Thomas Willing Balch, Vice-Presi- 
dent of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania . 

Whilst the Philadelphia Assembly dates back to 
1748, long before any other Assembly of the kind in the 
country, and when there was as yet no town of Carlisle, 
that of Carlisle is far enough back to connect with that 
of Philadelphia. The Philadelphia Assembly intermitted 
at times, more especially during the Revolutionary War ; 
and it was about the date of the revival of that Assembly, 
possibly a little earlier, that the date of the Carlisle As- 
sembly, possibly a little earlier, that the date of the Car- 
lisle Assembly may be fixed . 

*The Philadelphia Assemblies, by Thomas Willing Balch, of Phila- 
delphia, Allen, Lane and Scott, 1916. 



It seems pertinent, just here, to call attention, too, 
to the fact, that Carlisle at that time had a character of 
its own . It had long been an important military out- 
post ; but it was more than a frontier town at which expe- 
ditions were fitted out for the west. It was recognized 
as the centre of an intelligent and progressive commu- 
nity. It had had a marked influence on the political ac- 
tion of the Colony, leading to the Revolution . There 
were able lawyers at its bar. Three of the "Signers of 
the Declaration" had been practitioners there, including 
James Wilson, who resided there. The movement 
about that time to establish a new college there, the sec- 
ond in the State, was encouraged by the character of its 
inhabitants ; and it was promoted largely by prominent 
citizens of Philadelphia. The distance then of Carlisle 
socially from Philadelphia, was not as great as might be 
inferred from the length of the journey between them, 
and the absence of regular stage coaches . 

The word "Assembly," now socially almost confined 
to Dancing Assemblies, may at first seem strange in this 
connection, as it has no necessary connection with Danc- 
ing. Words grow obsolete, or change their meaning, or 
may become much broader or more restricted in usage. 
At that time the term "Assembly" had a much wider ap- 
plication, to political, religious, and other meetings, as 
well as social ones. It has its survivals to-day. We 
vote for members of the "Assembly," as the lower house 
of our State Legislature continues to be called ; the Pres- 
byterians go to their "General Assembly;" the French 
still have their Constituent Assembly ; today it is applied 
socially to a rather select, subscription, dancing organi- 
zation . 

But after more than a hundred years, with its 
changes, it is allowable to inquire, in how far the word 
represents the same thing. Or, to put the question more 
broadly than could well be done in regard to the Carlisle 
Assembly : In how far does the Philadelphia Assembly, 
which has survived, with almost unbroken succession. 



more than a century and a half, to day resemble, in many 
of its features, the Assembly of 1748, or even that of one 
hundred years ago? 

Now the term "Dancing" itself is a very broad term 
in general usage. It is so well understood, with all that it 
implies, that it calls for no definition or explanation. It 
runs back as far as the memory of man runs; it is con- 
fined to no age or nationality, or even stage of human de- 
velopment . Sometimes it is a ceremonial ; at times a re- 
ligious rite ; at others an incitement to battle ; but to day 
it is a purely social incident, with no other motive than 
pleasure . Whilst the far reach, from the Pyrrhic mar- 
tial dance of cultured Greece to the War-Dance of our ab- 
origines, is filled in with most entertaining history, we 
are concerned at present only with dancing as a purely 
social feature of comparatively modern life, as related to 
our day. 

It is pertinent here, just at the start, to inquire : 
What as a purely historic fact, was the attitude, at the 
time, of this community toward dancing? This ques- 
tion resolves itself into one ; of the attitude of the church 
toward that amusement; and that again more especially 
to one of the attitude of that denomination, preponderant 
in numbers in our Valley, to the high intellectual and pro- 
gressive character of whose membership, and to its firm- 
ness of conviction and purpose so much of the making of 
our Valley has been ascribed . 

It maybe assumed that, as a rule, dancing was not 
favored ; that it was in fact denounced by many, on ac- 
count of alleged immoral, or at least irreligious tenden- 
cies. 

In a I'ecently discovered letter, rather confidential, to 
a friend, by Doctor Nisbet, the distinguished President of 
the College, and one of the pastors of the Old Stone 
Church, on the Square, he more than intimates that the 
condemnation extended to the innocent instrument, that 
usually furnished the music. He was in a rather pessi- 
mistic mood at the time, in regard to the perpetuity of 



our Republican institutions, by reason of the "Whiskey 
Rebellion," through which he and his family had been 
placed in considerable danger. He writes: "It is a re- 
proach to our church that all these miscreants, who are 
concerned in this Insurrection, call themselves Presbyter- 
ians * * * * and it is impossible to believe that this Insur- 
rection could have been raised without their (the minist- 
ters of that church) countenance or connivance, and ex- 
cept in the case of Mr . Clark alone, it has never been 
heard of that they gave any discouragement to the late 
riots, although I heard that one of them had excommuni- 
cated a young woman for hearing a man playing on a 
fiddle, and the man for having played it in her hearing." 

Whilst there may not be among the names appended 
to the paper, including representatives of many promi- 
nent and influential families, many members of the 
church, there were some who were certainly regarded as 
such, or at least as affliated with the old Stone Church. 
It must be remembered, too, that the subscribers did not 
include all who participated in the dances, as provision 
was made, as was seen, for the admission of others to the 
floor. There may have been many of these. Whilst, 
therefore, many persons may have refrained from taking 
part in this amusement, by reason of religious, convic- 
tions, on the other hand, there is ground for belief, that 
there was not as much defiance of public opinion at the 
time, on the part of the dancers as might be thought by 
some ; as the attitude of that church, at least in Carlisle, 
was not as rigid in discipline, as at a later period. 

This inference is fully borne out by the most authen- 
tic history of the Old Stone Church. After Mr. Steel's 
pastorate there were several years of rather unsettled 
pastorates, until the entrance of Dr. Davidson upon his 
long term of twenty seven years. Part of the time he 
was a professor in the college, and part of the time had 
Doctor Nisbet as co-pastor. He was regarded as an 
able preacher, but he was even more the influential man 
in setting great and serious dissensions, that then af- 
flicted that church. He is spoken of as a man of un- 

8 



common prudence , and sound discretion . He 
died in 1812 . On his tombstone was inscribed by com- 
mon consent: "A Blessed Peacemaker." Under the pas- 
torate of this man of mild expedients, some deplored, 
"the evil effect of an irregular and lax management of 
discipline of the church"; and under his successor. Dr. 
Duffield, rules were introduced that were "strict and un- 
usual, and sometimes enforced with severity." Each 
one was pledged to renounce "the attendance at balls, and 
dancing, &c . , "and a few families more attached to their 
amusements, and especially to public and promiscuous 
dancing, than to their church, ultimately withdrew to an 
other congregation . " In this respect conditions were 
not very different in Philadelphia. There was not 
there complete unanmity in regard to dancing among 
persons in high social position. 

Leaving now this aspect of the subject, we turn to 
its purely social aspect, as an amusement, recreation, 
pastime, or whatever it may be called ; as it entered into 
the life of old Carlisle and of that period. 

There is not much positive information on a great 
many points that excite our curiosity . But there is 
enough to assure us that those, whom we know only his- 
torically, were as intensely human as we are; that they 
had their times of relaxation from the cares of life ; 
when they forgot for awhile posterity, and thought only 
of themselves, and enjoyed themselves dancing in their 
own way; which might not have been exactly our way. 
How then were these Assemblies, or balls if you please, 
conducted? How did the dances themselves of that day 
compare with those of our day? When we speak of 
dancing by those who preceded us, in how far does the 
word convey a correct impression? We know that the 
dances of today have their fashions, some might say their 
freaks; changing almost as rapidly as fashions in dress. 
We know, well that the fashions of dress today are widely 
different from those of a hundred years ago . The fine, 
well preserved suit, in the collection of the Assocaition 

9 



illustrates this better than words can tell ; and it is the 
suit of a gentleman . * 

Whilst the Philadelphia Assembly is far the oldest, 
and may be taken as the type ; in the later colonial period 
and afterward these so-called Assemblies became more 
general; but whilst all are on the same general plan, 
there are variations in details, occasioned by locality, or 
other circumstances, some of which may be noted. 

First then, these^ Assemblies were Subscription 
Balls,, and so designated. The subscription was for the 
season, and privileges were limited to subscribers, or 
guests under the rules . The subscribers were doubtless, 
at least, solicited for the Carlisle Assembly, by a sort of 
common consent, so that it could hardly have been re- 
garded as a promiscuous ball. The number does not 
seem to have been limited ; but Assemblies varied in this 
respect in different places; in one it was 50; and an ac- 
count of an early Philadelphia Assembly, states, that "it 
consisted of eighty Ladies and as many Gentlemen, one 
half appearing every Assembly night . " So the number 
of Assemblies in the season varied from three in Car- 
lisle,! to an Assembly every two weeks during the season 
elsewhere . 

But special assemblies were given, at times . Some 
were called "Birth-Night" balls, in honor of Washing- 
ton's birthday . The notice read : "the subscribers to the 
City Dancing Assembly are informed that there will be 
a ball at Cellar's Hotel on Saturday, the 22nd inst., it be- 
ing the birth night of the President of the United 
States." Another time the invitation reads: "Military 
Birth Night Ball in celebration of the birth of Washing- 
ton, on the evening of the 23rd instant." 

The price of subscription varied, also, with the place, 
and the number of balls during the season, from twenty 
five shillings at Carlisle to forty at Philadelphia; but it 

*This elegantly embroidered coat and vest, presented to the Library 
by Miss Enimeline Knox Parker, belonged to John Brown, Esq., of 
Philadelphia, whose correspondence in regard to the Assembly will be 
given later. 

fAccording to a letter, which appears later, in 1803 the subscription 
was for "8 nights for 8 dollars." 

to 



varied greatly with the period, and has soared far above 
the early price in Philadelphia. 

But there was one very marked and important dif- 
ference between those early and the present day Assem- 
blies . Ladies were not expected, or rather permitted to 
be subscribers. In the regulations of one Assembly it 
is put very explicitly : "Subscribers consisting of Gentle- 
men." Of course the Ladies were not to be left out. 

In Carlisle they were delicately invited by having 
season tickets sent them by the Managers. In some 
other assemblies each subscriber was given one ticket for 
a lady, and in some cases two . Today the sexes are on 
a perfect equality in the Philadelphia Assembly in this 
respect. Women are permitted, perhaps it should be 
put, expected to be subscribers . 

There is another question, that might arise here, 
suggested by the Carlisle paper : Was there an age limit 
for participants at the balls? We have noticed, that 
whilst they were able to cross out, in that paper, as origi- 
nally drawn, a suggestion to fix a limit, below which 
tickets might not be sent to ladies, and whilst they suc- 
ceeded, in rendering the number suggested undecipher- 
able, they were not able to obliterate the fact, that a 
proposition to fix an age limit had been made, and that the 
whole matter was finally left to the Managers. What 
is left of the number crossed out faintly suggests seven- 
teen years as the limit proposed. It is an interesting 
fact that, Marretje Van Brunt became the wife of Col. 
Magaw at 17, and probably danced before. But in 
some assemblies an age limit of 18 was fixed for ladies, 
and 20 for gentlemen . Perhaps there was no age limit, 
at the place from which a young gentleman wrote, that 
he was almost tired of the assembly, "because the Girls 
were so little." 

The Managers, or Directors, who were elected by 
the subscribers, or named in the subscription paper, were 
the all important persons, almost unlimited in discretion, 
and abtolute in power in carrying out the rules, and di- 

11 



reeling the dances . They varied in number ; in some 
cases there were as many as six, or even more. In the 
Carlisle subscription paper two were proposed, by name, 
and the addition of a third name, written above the other 
two, was crossed out . In the Carlisle assembly they de- 
termined the times and places of the meetings, and as we 
have seen, as well the ladies that were proper to be in- 
vited by having season tickets sent to them. 

But as a historical fact, it must be noted that the 
early Philadelphia Assemblies were not exclusively danc- 
ing Assemblies, but were of more general social char- 
acter. One of the rules required the Directors "to order 
anything necessary for the entertainment of the company 
as well as those inclined to dance, as well as those who 
are disposed to play cards. For the accommodation of 
the latter rooms are to be provided, and furnished with 
Fire, Candles, Tables, Chairs, Cards, &c." 

This provision for those who did not dance, which 
has, with time, become obsolete, was however, still a fea- 
ture of the social life of the city as late as 1780, as shown 
by the account given by the Marquis de Chastellux, a Ma- 
jor General in the French Army, at the time in service 
in America, under Rochambeau. In his highly enter- 
taining and authentic journal of several trips through 
the country, in 1780, 1781, and 1782, he makes the fol- 
lowing note: "The assembly, or subscription ball, of 
which I must give an account, may here be properly intro- 
duced. At Philadelphia as at London, Bath, Spa &c., 
there are places appropriated for the young people to 
dance in, and where those whom that amusement does 
not suit, play at different games of cards ; but at Philadel- 
phia games of commerce are alone allowed." These 
games were simple, miscellaneous, less strenuous than 
the games of today . 

But the main interest for us, naturally centers in 
.the Dances themselves, and the conduct of the ball . In 
these respects, probably, the difference between now and 
then is most pronounced . Most of the dances of today 

12 



would certainly have had no place in the balls of that 
period, or even much later. The Waltz, or so-called 
Round Dances were not altogether unknown, but at the 
time, and for years after this date, popular sentiment 
was decidedly against them . Byron in his bitter satire 
on the "Imperial Waltz imported from the Rhine," hard- 
ly more than gives expression to popular opinion, which 
finds an echo in Tom Moore's characterization of it as: 
"The waltz that rake from foreign lands." 

This feeling against these dances gave way very 
slowly . The later day writers of fiction do not lose 
sight of it in portraying the life of any period. Thus 
to quote from "Hard Cash," by Charles Reade: "The 
band struck up again, Ah, said Julia, I promised you the 
dance, but it is a waltz, and my guardian angel objects to 
the waltz a deux temps . " This scene belonged to about 
1820. The young man addressed admitted that he ought 
to be able to waltz properly as he had given his whole 
soul to it in Germany . This may contain an intimation 
that the waltz was not at the time thoroughly naturalized, 
and was perhaps awkwardly danced. So Dickens in 
Bleak House, makes George Roncesvalles see "images 
awful all the evening in their floating muslins waltzing 
after the German manner." That the waltz did not 
come into fashionable society in Philadelphia until late, 
and then gradually, might be inferred from an incidental 
passage in Mr. Balch's history. In closing, an account of 
a very fashionable private ball , he remarks, omitting 
names, "As the dance was closing, a young lady 
who is still living, in coming down stairs, saw Mr . — and 
Mrs. — waltzing in the parlor." The writer of this 
paper recalls, that as a very young man, he had frequent- 
ly seen some few of both sexes, who had received their 
dance culture during a residence in Germany, waltzing in 
the intervals of the dance, and that without giving of- 
fence to any one. These are simply given as historic 
facts, that seem pertinent to our subject. 

It can be readily understood that such a decidedly 
13 



foreign innovation over the dances long in vogue, would 
have encountered national sentiment and prejudice, that 
would alone have caused its slow reception, even in the 
fashionable circles of the day. But there may have 
been, at the same time, some intrinsic features of these 
dances themselves, that may have evoked opposition to 
them, especially if awkwardly danced, as they might 
have been at their introduction . Something of this ap- 
pears in the satire of Byron, before alluded to . 

But there is also much to be found in support of this 
view in the criticism of a more purely technical char- 
acter, by the author, of high character, of a "Grammar 
of the Art of Dancing", published in Boston, 1905 . In 
treating of Dancing as a Fine Art ; as he contends it was 
regarded by the Greeks, he remarks of the Waltz in his 
classification of dances : "It is to be regretted that the 
round dances, such as the Waltz, the Gallop and Polka 
are generally preferred to most others, for they do not 
merit the distinction from the standpoint of either are or 
science." "Impartially considered, the so-called Waltz- 
position is wholly objectionable, as it places the lady ab- 
solutely within the power of her partner. Such an at- 
titude would never be tolerated beyond the duration of 
the music of the dance." 

Let us turn now to the dances in vogue about the 
date we are considering . The so-called Country Dances 
almost naturally come first; represented today by the 
Virginia Reel, Money Musk, and we might add Roger de 
Coverly, They were particularly English dances, and 
susceptible of endless variations, and new ones were 
brought out frequently. 

An old small pocket almanac of 1797, with inter- 
leaved blank leaves, well filled with memoranda by an 
eminent lawyer, has two printed pages given to a list of 
new country dances, twenty five in number, under as 
many different names, with the figures given under each. 
We append it in part : 

14 



"NEW COUNTRY DANCES." 
"First of August.— The three ladies lead around 
the three gentlemen, the three gentlemen do the same, 
led down the middle, up again and cast off hands six 

quite round. 

"The Grand Sultan . —Change sides and back 
again, lead down the middle and up again, allemande 
with your partner; hands six round. 

"HYMEN'S Garden.— Call off two couple and up 
again, change sides and back again, lead down the middle, 
up again ; right and left at top . 

"Blanford Assembly.— Cast off two couples, up 
again ; cast off ; hands six round . 

"Seymour's Fancy.— Hey contrary side, same on 
your own side; hands six round; lead through third 
couple and cast up; ditto through second and cast off. 

Others by name are: "Highland Wedding;" "The 
Cabinet of Love;" "Venus' Girdle;" "Nymph of the 
Grot-" "The Soldier's Glory;" "Bangor Rout;" "Cupids 
Arrows;" "Little Peggy's Love;" "West's Hornpipe," etc. 
It may have been the "tender words adown the 
middle" that gave the Country Dance some of its hold 
against the French "Couquette Quadrille." But the 
Minuet,— the "Stately Minuet"— described as "replete 
with grace and modesty," was the Queen of the dances^ 
Of French origin, also, where the Menuet de la Cour, and 
the Menuet de la Reine were favorites, it appeared under 
many other names . The quadrille and the cotillion were 
other dances in favor. 

The Manager had the regulation of the balls, down 
to the last detail . As Chastellux says : "the Manager or 
Master of Ceremonies presides at these methodical 
amusements," and, mentioning a prominent man who 
held the place, he narrates that, "he exercised his office 
with great severity, and that it is told of him, that a 
young lady who was figuring in a Country Dance, having 
forgot her turn by talking with a friend, he came up to 
her, and called out aloud, "give over. Miss take care what 

15 



you are about ; Do you think you are here for your pleas- 
ure?" This, perhaps, may be regarded as only one in- 
stance of the rigid requirements of a day, when it was 
not only style, but when it was expected of every one, to 
dan^c through a quadi'ille, and not simply walk through 
it. 

There were many regulations that may seem strange 
today, but all conditioned by the dances of the time. A 
regular set was to consist of ten couples. There were 
rome rooms in which four sets could dance at once, but 
that was not the rule . The ladies ranked in sets . Those 
who arrived first formed the first set; and others were 
placed in sets in the order in which they came to the as- 
sembly. Every set of ladies drew for their places; but 
the Managers could place strangers and brides at the 
head of the Dances . The ladies who led called the dances 
alternately . No lady could dance out of her set without 
permission of the manager, or quit her place in the dance, 
or alter the figure; nor lady and gentleman quit their 
place after dancing down a country dance, or, if they 
danced again, to take their place at the bottom. The 
managers, whilst the Minuets were dancing, were to 
couple those disposed for Country Dances, and provide 
for strangers, and for odd couples, if there were four of 
the latter, they could form a set. There were many 
rules of a similar character, and it is not strange that 
Chastleux called them "methodical amusements," where 
a manager "presents to the ladies and gentlemen, danc- 
ers, billets folded up, each containing a number ; thus fate 
decides the male or female partner for the whole evening. 
All the dances are previously arranged, and the dancers 
are called in their turns . These dances like the "toasts" 
we drink at table, have some relation to politics ; one is 
called the success of the campaign, another, the defeat of 
Burgoyne, and a third, Clinton's retreat . 

From his description of a private dancing party, at 
another time, similar rules seemed to control. It was 
a wedding party. "There were nearly twenty women, 

16 



twelve or fourteen of whom were dancers ; each of them 
having her partner, as is the custom in America. Danc- 
ing is said to be at once the emblem of gaiety and of 
love ; here it seems to be the emblem of legislation and of 
marriage ; of legislation in as much as places are marked 
out, the country dances named, and every proceeding pro- 
vided for, calculated and submitted to regulation ; of mar- 
riage, as it furnishes each lady with a partner, with 
whom she dances the whole evening, without being allow- 
ed to take another. It is true that every severe law re- 
quires mitigation, and that it often happens that a young 
lady after dancing the two or three first dances with her 
partner may make a fresh choice, or accept of the invita- 
tion she has received . " 

The importance attached to the place of a lady in her 
set was the occasion of much friction at times . A young 
gentleman of the period, in correspondence with a friend, 
complains of the dullness, socially, in New York, owing to 
the fact that they had no assemblies there that season on 
account of a dispute which could not be settled ; not be- 
tween two men, but between their wives, as to which 
should "stand first couple in a country dance . " The 
dispute had gone so far that at a private ball, "there were 
high words," and one lady "retired in a rage ;" and at a 
later dancing party, the lady called on her husband's sup- 
port, and involved him in a quarrel with the officer pre- 
siding, that led to a formal challenge;" which, was how- 
ever, amicably adjusted. 

But to correct an impression, that may have been 
made from what has been said, as to the cause of the pri- 
macy of the "stately minuet" as a dance, some allusion 
must be made to an imperious and rather absurd fashion 
of that olden time, that would in itself put the dances of 
the present day absolutely out of the question . 

The towering head-dresses of the ladies would have 
permitted no other kind of dance . They were made up 
of paste, rolls, cushions, hair, feathers, etc . ; they defy 
description, but were regarded as real works of art. 

17 



Such a head dress could only be built up by a profession- 
al hair dresser of great skill and ingenuity, and we may 
assume of great good taste. There were not many of 
that character. The work of art required a great deal 
of time, so that the services of those regarded as the best 
were engaged, in turns, days, or even weeks before a 
ball ; and it is said that ladies, according to their turn, un- 
willing to risk moving their heads, except very slowly, 
would rest sitting up, for several nights before the dance. 
To illustrate the indiscribableness of it all, I will give just 
one extract from a letter of young lady to a friend, tell- 
ing of her preparations for a ball . She writes, "the 
dress is more ridiculous and pretty than anything I ever 
saw — a great quantity of different colored feathers on the 
head at a time, besides a thousand other things . " 

The ladies of Philadelphia were favored in having 
most expert hair dressers. Among the French refu- 
gees, who had lost everything, were many of excellent 
families, who not only had the sympathy of the best 
classes, but were engaged as teachers of French and danc- 
ing, and some as hair-dressers, without loss of social po- 
sition . It would be unfair here, however, to pass over 
the fact that this surrender to an absurd fashion was not 
a purely feminine weakness or folly. Men had their 
wigs almost equally ridiculous, — their tee wigs, their 
night-cap wigs, their bob wigs, their riding wigs, and 
their wigs for the balls, with their gold lace and trimm- 
ing on which he could not put his hat, which he was 
obliged to carry, under his arm . There is a survival of 
this fashion, as a sort of convention, in the English 
courts of today, where the Judge sits solemnly, wearing 
his enormous wig, with its horse-hair curls, and the bar- 
risters flit about with their more practical mere sugges- 
tions of wigs . 

There is another incident in this connection, allusion 
to which may be pardoned on account of its purely local 
interest. Col. Butler, one of the famous five "fighting 
Butlers," whose father's home was in Carlisle, and whose 

IS 



gunsmith shop is still standing, had his queue dressed 
and hair powdered every morning before reveille, even 
on a campaign . He was a personal friend of Washing- 
ton's, had fought in many battles of the Revolutionary 
War, had especially distinguished himself at Brandywine 
and Monmouth ; but when Gen . Wilkinson issued his or- 
der that queues should be cut off, he refused to obey ; was 
courtmartialled twice ; was first reprimanded, the second 
time suspended for a year; but died before the sentence 
was pronounced. The incident has been embalmed in 
classic fiction, in Irving's Knickerbocker's History of 
New York, where he suggested the character of Kelder- 
meester . 

As to the music for the dances, the fiddle seems to 
have had the field all to itself. Bands came in at a 
much later date . According to Mr . Balch, even in the 
later fifties "the musicians were darkies:" A young 
gentleman, on a visit to Philadelphia about the Revolu- 
tionary period, in describing a fashionable sleighing and 
dancing party, says, the "seven sleighs, with two ladies 
and two men in each, preceded by fiddlers on horseback," 
went to a "public house a few miles from the town, where 
we danced, sung, and romped and eat and drank, and 
kicked away care from morning till night. " 

Another gentleman in giving an account of smaller 
sleighing parties, in which "planters's daughters," of 
Lancaster County were the ladies, remarks, "but in order 
to have a sleighing frolic in style, it is necessary to pro- 
vide a fiddler, who is placed at the head of the sleigh, 
and plays all the way. The occupants not only visited 
their friends for miles around, but alighted at every Inn 
and had a dance. 

Whilst then there were many, we might say very 
many, of the highest social position, who disapproved of 
dancing as a social amusement, and, true to their convic- 
tions and best judgment, refrained from it, there were 
also many who did not look at it from the same point of 
view, who chased away dull care in their enjoyment of it. 

19 



We can hardly think of the great Washington, the digni- 
fied and historic Washington, I might almost say the con- 
ventionalized Washington, as he appears on public docu- 
ments, down to postage stamps, taking part even in the 
"stately minuet," and yet he was not only fond of danc- 
ing, but according to some accounts, passionately fond of 
it. Whilst it is said that he would, as a young man ride 
ten miles from Mt. Vernon to attend a dance, it is 
equally well authenticated, that during the Revolution, 
when Commander-in-Chief of the Patriot army, he did 
not deem it beneath his dignity to dance, but seemed to 
enjoy it. 

In a letter of Mrs . Bache, daughter of Benjamin 
Franklin, to her father, Jan . 17th, 1779, she says, "I have 
several times been invited abroad with the General and 
Mrs . Washington . He always inquires after you in the 
most affectionate manner, and speaks of you highly . We 
danced at Mrs. Povv^el's your birthday, or night I should 
say, in company together . " " 

Again in a letter from Gen. Greene to Col. Wads- 
worth, March, 1779, he writes : "We had a little dance at 
my quarters a few evenings past," and then adds, what 
I think can hardly be accurate: "His Excellency and Mrs. 
Greene danced upwards of three hours without once sitt- 
ing down," I give this simply as it is given f and as re- 
peated in some creditable histories . It is doubtless not 
meant to be taken literally. Subsequently, 1780, in writ- 
ing from Headquarters, Morristown, to Joseph Reed, 
Gen . Greene says : "We have opened an assembly at 
Camp . From the apparent ease, I suppose it is thought 
we must be in happy circumstances;" but he explained, 
that their provisions were gone, they had not a ton of 
hay, money was extremely scarce, and worth little when 
they got it, etc . The subscription paper for "the promo- 
tion and support of a dancing assembly, to be held in 
Morristown this present Winter, 1780," has 35 subscrib- 
ers, and Washington's name heads the list. The amount 

*Itinerary of Gen. Washington, 1779, by William S. Baker. Penn'a 
Mag. of Hist. Vol. XV, No. 1, p. 41. Hist. Soc. of Penn'a, 1910. 
tibid, p. 46. 

20 



opposite each name was 400 dollars, or about eleven dol- 
lars in specie . This explains that money was worth 
little when they got it. 

The places where the balls were held were generally 
public houses or inns . Many of the Assemblies of Phil- 
adelphia were held at the City Tavern, a principal place 
of resort, where dinners, receptions and dances were 
given. In his paper, read before the Association, on 
The Taverns of Carlisle, by John Miller, Esq . , he states 
that every tavern had a ball-room, that could be en- 
larged, when desired by connecting adjoining rooms with 

it. 

Some of the most interesting documents connected 
with this subject are the original invitation or admission 
cards . They are comparatively rare, not because there 
were not many of them, but because after they had 
served their purposes, few were kept as souvenirs, but 
they were tossed carelessly aside, without a thought of a 
curious posterity having any interest in them . We are 
' fortunate in having one which, if it does not run back 
into the 18th century, lacks less than a year of being 100 
years old . It is in the- possession of J . Webster Hen 
derson, Esq., who has a family interest in it. It is a 
printed card, 2Vox3V.) inches, bearing at the top, in large 
letters, "Cotillion Party . " It reads : "Mr . S . Alexander 
is requested to attend a Cotillion Party at the house of 
Mathew Armor on Tuesday evening the 3rd of March." 
It is dated, Feb. 28, 1818. The following names are 
printed beneath as managers: John Duncan, Paul I. 
Hetich, Ephraim M . Blaine, Henry M . Campbell . 

The term "Cotillion", in America, covered the square 
dances generally, but did not include country dances ; but 
that does not necessarily imply that they were excluded 
from such a party. The name cotillion was, however, 
applied to a feature peculiar to German balls . It con- 
sisted of a variety of dances in which favors were freely 
used . It came near the end of the ball, after the mid- 
night refreshments, and at least two subsequent waltzes. 

21 



This Gennan Cotillion, in comparatively recent years, 
found considerable favor in the United States, where in 
a short time "cotillion" was dropped, and it passed sim- 
ply under the name "The German . " 

The party in this case v/as not a private party, as 
might be sugegsted by the place, the "House of Mathew 
Armor. " The inns of that day were frequently designated 
by the name of the proprietor; as Foster's Inn, or Tav- 
ern, or simply Foster's. I am inclined to think that the 
name of Mr. Armor's inn was the "Sorrel Horse." The 
fact that the names of the managers were printed, and 
not autographically subscribed, would confirm the view 
that it was not a private ball. The invitation was 
probably a complimentary one to Mr. Alexander, gener- 
ally known as General Alexander. 

All the names on this little card have considerable 
local interest. They had all been connected with Dick- 
inson College. Mr. Alexander was the son of a Revolu- 
tionary office. He was graduated in the class of 1812, 
and became one of the ablest lawyers in the State . He* 
married a sister of Ephraim M . Blaine, a grand-daughter 
of Col . Ephraim ^laine . John Duncan, the first on the 
list of managers, was from Carlisle, probably of the 
prominent family, before alluded to. He was of the 
class of 1814, but did not continue to graduation. Paul 
I. Hetrich, was from Franklin County, also of the class 
of 1814 ; but did not graduate, but the college conferred 
upon him the degree of A . M . , in 1824 . Ephraim M . 
Blaine, was a grandson of Col. Ephraim Blaine; was 
graduated in the class of 1814 ; became a physician, was 
a medical author of repute, and became a surgeon in U. 
S . A . He resided in Carlisle several years before he at- 
tained his M . D . Henry M . Campbell was a native of 
Carlisle ; was graduated in the class of 1809 ; was a cap- 
tain in U . S . Army ; was admitted to the bar in Carlisle, 
in 1817. It may be worth mentioning that James 
Buchanan, subsequently President of the United States, 
was also a graduate in the same class of 1809 . 

22 



But as we have already ventured so far out of the 
18th century, it may be pardonable to allude to several 
invitations that have turned up, of more recent date, that 
will help to mark the transition to the present . A hand- 
somely engraved card, with "Baltimore Assemblies, 
1849-50," reads, "The honor of Miss J. B. Alexander's 
company is requested at the Baltimore Assemblies." (she 
was a daughter of General S. Alexander, of Carlisle) . 
Under "managers" are engraved twenty four names. 

Another headed "National Celebration of Washing- 
ton's Birth-Night, 1851," reads: "The honor of Miss J. 
B . Alexander's company is requested at an Assembly, on 
Monday the 24th February at Carusi's Saloon . " Under 
"Managers," in three columns, are more than hundred 
names, the first being that of Hon. Henry Clay, followed 
by many other Honorables, including Sam. Houston, 
John p! Hale, Daniel Webster, Howell Cobb, and many 
with military titles, and many untitled distinguished cit- 
izens The term "managers" has evidently lost its early 
meaning, and the particularity to call it a "birth-night 
ball" in celebration of the birth day, carries it back to the 
early days of the Assemblies, whilst the change of date 
occasions no trouble . An invitation to the "Grand In- 
augural Ball" for President Taylor, in 1849, whilst more 
elaborate, has the same general character . 

This paper is necessarily incomplete on many pomts 
There are many facts and incidents connected with the 
subject, in regard to which there might be the most nat- 
ural curiosity, but if the old document has opened up a 
little glimpse into one phase of social life of those olden 
days the purpose of the paper has been in some measure 

carried out . ,. i j i ^- 

I am glad, however, to say that a copy of an old let- 
ter has been placed in my hands in the past few days, 
which gives us some information on a point of consider- 
able interest. Something has been told about the gen- 
tlemen subscribers to the Assembly, but nothing about 
the lady non-subscribers, who played as essential part m 

23 



the social enterprise . The quaint old letter from a Car- 
lisle boy of the time to his brother, seems almost to have 
been written to gratify our curiosity on this point. 

It is by Lieut. Erkuries Beatty, from "Quarters 
near Yorktown, Aug. 19, 1782." We are indebted for 
the privilege of using it, to Miss Helen Beatty, daughter 
of our well known townsman. Captain Beatty, of Civil 
War record, whose uncle the writer was . It is a long 
letter, and I must confine myself to extracts, but I know 
you will pardon me, if I do not make them too brief. It 
is but fair to call your attention to the fact that it was 
written in the full freedom and confidence of intimate 
friendship, and of course not intended for us . 

The young lieutenant had only been about a week in 
his Quarters near York . He says he was billeted on "a 
rigid old Quaker, of course a damn't tory ;" but he was 
treated well, and they got along well, as only religious 
questions were discussed . He writes, "I find myself very 
lonesome, as I dare not go to town, as I have neither 
money nor yarn, as the saying goes . " The word "yarn" 
might be fitted into present day conditions, but only in- 
terpretation for it here, that occurs to me, is, that maybe 
a hank of homespun yarn, was the equivalent of money 
in the purse, on going to town . In his lonesomeness 
"with nothing else in his thoughts, only Carlisle," he 
turns to write to his brother, a sort of introduction, for 
his use, in case he should visit Carlisle, to "the agreeable 
fair sex there," giving the "character of them individu- 
ally" to the best of his knowledge. Some of the family 
names on the subscription paper will be recognized among 
them. 

Beginning at the upper end of the town he mentions 
them in order: first; Miss Betsy Miller, pretty, much in- 
clined to be an old maid, not handsome, but very sensible, 
a great reader, and a great favorite of Jack Hughes, per- 
haps before this, married; Miss Sally Postle, (this is most 
likely Postlethwaite) a pretty young lady, possessed of a 
great deal of sympathy, friendship and good nature, but 

2-i 



believe her heart is engaged to a Citizen ; the three Miss 
Montgomerys ; Hetty, about 4 or 5 and twenty, and mid- 
dling handsome, rather given to pride and backbiting, but 
her favorites will find her very agreeable; next is Sidney 
not quite as handsome, but very affable, friendly, and 
good-natured, and more industrious than any of that fam- 
ily; the other is Jenny, outvies the other two in beauty, 
but is puffed up with affectation, yet some think her very 
clever . Going down street : Miss Nancy Stevenson, 
about 5 or 6 and twenty, very engaging look, and ex- 
tremely genteel, is sensible and satirical, but very good 
company and kind; Miss Jenny Holmes, although her 
father is a tory, it makes her none the worse. She is 
very merry and reckoned handsome, on account of beau- 
tiful dimples in her cheeks, is a very agreeable part- 
ner at a dance, and got an elegant head of hair . Miss 
Bekky Miller, rather got a sourness in her looks, but is 
very good-natured and industrious, has had a good many 
suitors in her time, although possessed of no pride, and 
is about 19 or 20 . Her father will be able to give her 
a very good fortune, if he pleases, and I think she will 
make a good wife . Miss Nelly Ponk, by no means a 
pretty girl, but a good one, has good sense, industry, 
friendship, and I believe will soon be married to a citi- 
zen . Slip over to the works, where you will find the two 
Miss Sergeants : first, Sally, very genteel and dressy, 
though not very handsome, thinks herself much of a lady, 
and would always wish to be in genteel company ; next, 
Molly, is much handsomer and more sociable and genteel, 
but both of them have good educations and politeness, 
and as they formerly lived in Amboy, Jersey, till the ene- 
my drove them away, and I believe destroyed their for- 
tunes ; but they are as polite and fashionable girls as we 
have in town . Miss Nancy Irish, is very pretty, is deli- 
cate, and much on the Religious, keeps very little com- 
pany . A mile up the Spring, you will find Miss Jenny 
Blair, a minister's daughter, a wild rattling, harum 
scarum, young girl, yet possessed of natural wit enough, 

25 



and middling handsome. Her older sister is different 
in every way. About one mile above the town, is Miss 
Nancy Antes, a pretty, modest, discret, well behaved girl, 
very reserved, hard to become acquainted with ; she will 
be married soon. Four miles higher up, you will see 
Miss Sally Sample, middling handsome and genteel per- 
son. Very lively, witty, sociable, and kind. She is 
about 18 years old, and not possessed of a very 
good fortune. She dresses very genteel. Four miles 
across the country you may find Miss Polly Smith, her 
perfection is her engaging eyes, sensibility and friend- 
ship ; her father is veryr ich, and she has had a great 
many courtiers ; am informed she is a little of a Coquette, 
but she is thought to be a very good girl, which I believe 
she is. All these attend our Assemblies; besides a bux- 
om rich widow, two old maids, three or four young 
girls that have not married, with a number of married 
ladies of the town. I would enumerate a great many 
more young ones to you, between the ages of 13 and 15; 
but as they were never admitted into the company of 
those above, being too young, it is not worth while ; but 
some of them are very handsome and agreeable . 

He closes his long letter : "answer me as soon as pos- 
sible, and as long as you please, which will be esteemed as 
a particular favor by your loving and affectionate Bro. 
Erkuries." 

Allusion has been made to the close relation between 
Carlisle and Philadelphia in those early days, not only 
business and political, but social as well. It is a pleas- 
ure to have some direct substantiation of the statement. 
A young lady, a descendant of an old Carlisle family, 
whom you all know, Miss Emmeline K. Parker, has 
found in the old family record chest several letters, which 
have a direct bearing upon this point, which she has 
kindly consented to read to us with such explanation as 
may be necessary. 

It seems proper to preface the reading of the letters 
with a brief explanatory statement. The young man, 

26 



Isaac Brown Parker, most interested in the correspond- 
ence, was the grandfather of Miss Parker, the reader of 
the letters . He had been placed by his uncle, John 
Brown, Esq., of Philadelphia, a man of broad business 
relations, prominent in the Revolutionary period, as a 
student of law under the tuition and care of his intimate 
personal friend, James Hamilton, a prominent lawyer, at 
Carlisle, a few years afterward appointed to the bench 
of the district. The young man became a prominent 
lawyer and influential citizen . He was a member of the 
Board of Trustees of the College, and for many years its 
secretary. His son, John Brown Parker, was also a 
lawyer, an A . B . of the University of Pennsylvania, and 
LL . B . of the Law School here, and is well remembered 
here as a prominent citizen . 

As these letters, incidentally, give us a nearer view 
of Carlisle Society of that day, as well as of the Assemb- 
lies, w^e are glad to be able to give them in full, as fol- 
lows : 

Boston, Nov. 2, 1780. 
"Dear Sir: 

I have the pleasure to acknowledge the receipt of 
your favor of the 16th ult, for which I retrun you many 
thanks, assuring you at the same time that it always 
makes me happy to render you any kind of friendship . 
This will be handed you by Mr. James Hamilton, who 
is lately from Ireland . He is a particular friend of mine, 
and as such I beg to recommend him to your particular 
attention and acquaintance. He means to settle some- 
where with you ; the particulars of which with his future 
plans, I will refer to himself, and advice may be of ser- 
vice to him, I doubt not from the regard you have for me 
and the assistance that he will gain from you that you 
will readily assist him. 

Pray drop me a line and let me know what has turn- 
ed up in consequence of Arnold's papers being examined. 

There is such reports here about our friend 

27 



M (orris) that I should be glad to know the truth of it — 
being 

"Very truly 

"Dr Sir 
"Your most Obt. & Hum, Servant 

"Henry Mitchel . " 
"To John Brown, Esq. 

Philadelphia . " 

Addressed to John Brown, Esq . , 
Pine street, Philadelphia. 
"Dear Sir, Almost all the young men of this place 
have subscribed to the Dancing Assembly, 8 nights for 8 
Dollars, and which will be supported by the first Inhabi- 
tants of the place, perhaps one night in the week might 
be proper to divert to such an amusement, as young peo- 
ple if refused a reasonable gratification, will frequently 
seek a resource . Your nephew will not attempt to sub- 
scribe without your approbation. If you agree to it it 
should be on the condition of withdrawing early, and 
making up by increased diligence if possible, for portion 
of time so appropriated . 
"Truly 
"Dear Sir 

"Yr dev'd friend 

"James Hamilton. 
"Carlisle, 18 Dec. 1803." 

From John Brown to his nephew, I . B . Parker, Carlisle, 

"Phila'd, 28th Decem'r, 1803. 
"Dear Isaac 

Mr. Hamilton has proposed your joining the As- 
sembly this season to which I have no objection if you 
wish it & he approves, but hope it will not divert your 
mind from substantial concerns. 
"Yr affectionate Uncle 

"John Brown" 
28 



Addressed to "John Brown, Esq., No. 188, Chest- 
nut Street, Philadelphia." 

"Carlisle, 8th January, 1804. 

"Honored Sir , 

Having your permission and Mr. Hamilton s ap- 
proval I shall join the Assembly. I have generally 
avoided mixing in company since I came here, but as all 
the young gentlemen of the profession have jomed, it 
would not appear in a favorable light were I not to at- 
tend, especially as Mr. Hamilton is the chief Promoter of 
it, and none but the first in the place are admitted. 

I hope to make suitable improvement for this indul- 
gence, as it is the only time I shall devote to recreation 

during the winter. . 

Nothing farther recurring at present, I beg you will 
accept the gratitude and esteem of your dutiful nephew. 

Isaac B. Parker." 



29 



